Kurt Angle Would’ve Loved To Wrestle Kenny Omega, Compares Him To AJ Styles
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Kurt Angle recently spoke to Forbes about a multitude of topics. In the interview, he names his favorite match ever, preparation for his WrestleMania XIX match with Brock Lesnar, and wanting to wrestle Kenny Omega.
Here are some highlights:
Kurt Angle On Potentially Wrestling Kenny Omega
“Oh, gosh, that’s one of my dream matches! Kenny is extremely talented. I saw a match with him in Japan and I thought ‘wow this guy’s incredible.’ He reminds me a lot of AJ Styles. They both have the same style where they can fly and do groundwork equally well.”
Kurt Angle On Preparing For The Main Event Of WrestleMania XIX
“Especially when I had a broken neck. Yeah. That was the toughest decision I ever made because Brock’s a beast and his power and strength is unparalleled. The only people I know that are as strong as him, but they aren’t as explosive, are Mark Henry and Big Show. But Brock is just explosive and his belly-to-belly suplexes are brutal. But, I wanted to do it. I actually talked to Vince into allowing me to wrestle at WrestleMania with my neck broken, and I got cleared by the doctor. That wouldn’t happen today. But in 2003, you could get away with a little more stuff. But now there’s just no way there’s too much liability.”
Kurt Angle On His Favorite Match Ever
“My favorite match is versus Chris Benoit at the 2003 Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship. Chris was a mirror image of me with his intensity, his technique, and his persona. He stepped it up every time in the ring. We matched each other’s intensity, and it just worked extremely well. We had a lot of submission trade-offs, and a lot of false finishes and the match is really intriguing.
“After I won, Team Angle came out, we celebrated and I walked out of the ring. The fans stood and gave Chris a standing ovation for 15 minutes, and it was a pay-per-view, Vince McMahon let it go, and the fans appreciating Chris showed us how good that match was. Even Triple H came up to me afterward, I was only in the business three years at the time, and he said, ‘you just raised the bar.’ I didn’t know how good the match was. I thought it was okay. Now when I watch it I’m like oh my gosh, this thing’s a masterpiece. To have someone like Triple H telling you that you raise the bar, that’s a huge compliment.”
Kurt Angle recently launched a podcast, the Kurt Angle Show, on Westwood One, co-hosted by the new hardest working man in show business Conrad Thompson. Subscribe here.
Kurt Angle Calls Wrestling Kenny Omega A Dream Scenario
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